The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
by Bards and Songbirds
Summary: A one shot about Albus Severus's journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


**So this is a Short Fanfic I wrote for a contest at my library last year. I didn't win (some poorly written Star Wars fic beat mine out.) However, I enjoyed writing this and wanted to share it with the world. I do not own Harry Potter and J K Rowling wrote all the dialogue in the second half of this. I simply wrote from a different perspective than she did, and she deserves all credit for her brilliance! Anyway, Enjoy. Please Review!**

Al sighed heavily as he stared at the empty trunk. The new leather gleamed and his name, 'Albus Severus Potter,' shone on its side. But with its open lid, it looked more like some vicious animal, waiting to devour him.

He should have been packed weeks ago…in fact he had been. But as the time had drawn nearer, something akin to dread had risen in him. He didn't really know why… after all, tomorrow he would be on his way to Hogwarts. At that thought, a bubble of excitement rose from his toes and swelled in his stomach, but then a needle of apprehension burst it into a thousand pieces.

He had imagined the tattered, ancient sorting hat being dropped on his head, while he waited expectantly. But to his despair, the hat would suddenly boom out in its horse, scratchy voice, "SLYTHERIN!"

Al sank down onto his bed with a sigh and sent the trunk careening to the floor with a sturdy kick. It stayed there along with the robes and books and other odds and ends he had packed.

That wasn't the first time he'd had that vision. It had haunted his dreams, his thoughts; it seemed as if he couldn't escape it. His father had told him that mostly divination was just was spouting off whatever popped into your head. But now he was afraid that wasn't true, and he was seeing the future. Lily, his little sister, hadn't really helped either with her incessant badgering about what house he would be in.

The door to his room swung open suddenly.

"Hey Al. Mom says- man your room is a mess!"

"What do you want, James?" Al said as he looked up at his brother.

"Oh, yeah. Mum says it's time for dinner. And Teddy's here."

Al dragged himself off the bed and glanced at the mirror on his way out of the room. His wild tangle of black hair framed his thin, pale face, which looked even paler that usual. He was the only one of all his siblings to have gotten his father's green eyes. Al had been told before that he was the mirror image of his father, but there was one difference. Al didn't have a lightning scar on his forehead. He knew everyone expected him to be just like his father… but he also knew he couldn't do it. He didn't have the fate of the wizarding world resting on his shoulders, and he definitely wasn't special.

Before he even knew he was downstairs and his mother was calling him to dinner. He went willingly, and sat down next to his cousin, Rose. Everyone was here tonight. His grandparents, his aunt and uncle, all his cousins, and of course Teddy.

Tonight Teddy's hair was a greenish teal and his eyes were dark brown. "Hey, Al!" he said from across the table. "Ready to go tomorrow?"

Al nodded weakly, and tried to crack a smile. He hoped Teddy wouldn't see how unenthusiastic he had been. He didn't, but Al's mother did.

"Are you alright, love?" she asked.

"Yeah, mum. I'm fine. Really. I am."

Ginny decided not to bother him anymore but kept a nervous eye on him for the rest of the meal.

Later, when Al had gone upstairs and was carefully repacking everything, his father came to talk to him.

"Hey," his father said, as he affectionately ruffled his hair. "What's wrong? You haven't been yourself lately. Your mother and I are worried."

"Oh, it's nothing, Dad." Al turned around and began to put his new telescope next to the cauldron in his trunk.

"Are you sure it's nothing?"

"Fine. It's not nothing. I guess I'm just a little nervous. I mean what if I get lost in the train station, or I can't get onto platform nine and three quarters, or what if I get on the train and I can't find a seat, or I get to Hogwarts and no one likes me. And James said…"

Harry Potter laughed as he looked at his son. "Al," he said still grinning. "Don't listen to a word your brother tells you. But now let me tell you a little story. The first time I went to King's Cross, my aunt and uncle drove me. You see I had no idea where platform nine and three quarters was. And so I ended up lost between platforms nine and ten, looking like a maniac with my trunk and owl. I probably wouldn't have ever made it to Hogwarts if I hadn't seen a family with and an owl and followed them. That was when I met your mother. So getting lost in train stations isn't always a bad thing. And the time I couldn't find a seat, I ended up sitting next to Teddy's father, and he saved my life on the train. But I have to say, if you get to Hogwarts and no one likes you, then that's their loss."

"Thanks dad. That does help me feel better," Al murmured gratefully as he hugged his father. "Now can you go so I can finish packing?"

. . .

"I_ won't! _I _won't _be in Slytherin!" Al shouted over the noise of the crowded station.

"James, give it a rest!" his mother said in an exasperated voice.

"I only said he _might _be," James said with a crooked grin. "There's nothing wrong with that. He _might_ be in Slyth –"

He was suddenly silenced by his mother's steely eye.

James shot another cocky glance over his shoulder at his little brother before breaking into a run and disappearing beyond the brick divider.

All of Al's fears had suddenly resurfaced with his brother's teasing.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" he asked suddenly as he turned to his mother.

"Every day, if you want us to." His mother responded lovingly.

"Not _every_ day," he added quickly. "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."

His mother smiled. "We wrote to James three times a week last year."

"Remember what I said yesterday." His father added. "You don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts. He likes a laugh, your brother."

He and his father began running together. Al winced as they neared the barrier, but he didn't feel anything.

As he opened his eyes moments later, he was surrounded by the steam pouring from the scarlet train.

Where are they?" Albus asked his mother, beginning to get anxious.

"We'll find them," his mother said soothingly.

Al couldn't really see anything now, the fog was so thick. His brother had already disappeared into it, and he could hear his uncle Percy giving a lecture somewhere through the fog. Now he was glad for the smoke, as he would rather not see either of them.

His mother spoke suddenly. "I think that's them, Al."

Four figures were walking along the train, but it was impossible to see who they were until they were side by side.

"Hi," Al said, relieved, and Rose smiled from ear to ear at him in response. Al noticed she was already wearing her robes.

Their fathers began talking, but neither child was really listening until his uncle Ron turned to Rose and said, "If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you. But no pressure."

"_Ron_," his wife said sharply.

Lilly and Hugo, Rose's little brother laughed hysterically, but it was no joke to Rose or Al.

"He didn't mean it," their mothers said together but something else had caught Al's eye. The fog had cleared for a moment and he caught a glimpse of a boy his age, standing with his parents. He was thin and had a pale, pointy face. Al looked at the boy's father. They looked as similar to each other as Al did to his father. He looked back down at the boy.

Their eyes met for a moment, before his uncle Ron whispered, "So that's little Scorpius." Then his voice rose again and he was joking with his daughter, but Al couldn't hear anything else.

He saw his brother come back, and he was waving madly as he said something with an incredulous look on his face but Al couldn't hear. All he could hear was, "SLYTHERIN" ringing out across the great hall.

He was jolted out of his revere by a sharp kick to his shins.

"See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible. _You said they were invisible._"

James responded with a laugh, sighed dramatically as his mother kissed him goodbye, and disappeared again.

Harry turned to his son. "Thestrals are nothing to worry about. They're gentle things and there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

His mother kissed him, and as he hugged his father he was reminded of Hagrid's invitation for tea on Friday and was given last minute warnings.

He looked up suddenly and whispered, "What if I'm in Slytherin?"

Harry sank to his knees so as to look his son in the eye. "Albus Severus," His father said in a whisper. "You were named for two Headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

"But _just say_- "  
"—Then the Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won't it. It doesn't matter to us Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The sorting hat takes your choices into account.

Al's eyes widened. "Really?"

"It did for me."

Suddenly all his fears left him and he grinned like he hadn't in days. He hugged his father again, gave a last kiss to his mother, and jumped confidently into the train.

As it began to pull away from the station he turned in his seat to peer out the window. He saw his father waving from the platform and waved back excitedly.

He stayed like that until the station was out of sight. Then he let his hand fall and turned around. He looked at Rose, who had sat next to him and they grinned at each other. He was ready; his nerves had been replaced completely with adulation and expectancy at the adventures which awaited him in the magic corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


End file.
